Skidmore student seeks money to purchase, give away bikes in Uganda

Skidmore sophomore James Lyness rides through the school's North Woods. Lyness hopes to raise money to buy bicycles for Ugandans, and plans a 22-mile ride on Saturday to promote the cause. (ERICA MILLER/The Saratogian)

Skidmore sophomore James Lyness rides through the school's North Woods. Lyness hopes to raise money to buy bicycles for Ugandans, and plans a 22-mile ride on Saturday to promote the cause. (ERICA MILLER/The Saratogian)

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- When he was presented with his first bicycle at age 4, James Lyness felt he had also received newfound freedom.

That feeling is what the Skidmore College sophomore is attempting to share with others through his work with Bicycles Against Poverty, a not-for-profit organization formed at Bucknell University in 2009 that provides bicycles to the displaced, impoverished people of northern Uganda.

Lyness is leading the charge to create a Bicycles Against Poverty group at Skidmore College and raise money to buy bicycles that he and other students would distribute in Uganda, so people there can more efficiently commute to work and water sources.

"We're looking for people in the community to get involved," Lyness said. "Our goal is to distribute bicycles to people in low-income communities in the developing world and make it easier for (farmers) without transportation to go to work in the fields and take their goods to the market, where they can sell them for money and hopefully take better care of their families."

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His goal for the year is to raise $10,000 through grant-writing and by selling Ugandan-made handbags. The funds will be held in the Bicycles Against Poverty coffers at Bucknell University until they can be used to purchase bicycles, Lyness said.

Tomorrow, he'll hold a 22-mile bike ride, from the college campus to the banks of the Hudson River in Schuylerville and back, to raise awareness and money for the cause.

The event, called Pedal to the River, is open to the public. Cyclists who donate $20 or more will get a free BAP T-shirt, although anyone is welcome to ride without making a donation, Lyness said. Participants should meet at the Case Center at 11:45 a.m.

"I want to use this bike ride as a metaphor for the way people have to acquire water in the developing world," said Lyness, who spent part of last summer working with Bicycles Against Poverty in and around Uganda's Gulu district.

There, he interviewed Ugandans who received bicycles from the organization in the summer of 2009 to see if there was a noticeable change in their economic status during the year. Lyness said in some cases there was a significant increase in the number of livestock owned, which is how Ugandan farmers measure their wealth.

About 300 bikes were distributed by Bicycles Against Poverty between 2009 and 2010, but the total impact was on 1,000 people because the bicycle beneficiaries often share them with family and friends, he added. "We're going in and trying to allow people to 'cycle to prosperity' -- to receive this bicycle as a way to gain a sense of individuality and power and economic responsibility," Lyness said.

The Pedal to the River ride will coincide with the national Gulu Walk, and one third of the funds donated will go to the Gulu Walk Foundation.